The Internet has resulted in unprecedented access to information. In the e-Commerce area, buyers of products and services are presented with a myriad of choices and are in need of decision analysis tools to help them manage the vast amount of information presented to them. For builders of products and services, there is a need for decision analysis tools that will help them make decisions related to creating and refining product and service offerings. For sellers of products and services, there is a need for decision analysis tools that will help them maximize company profits while increasing customer value.
Current providers of decision support tools generally target one of the activities in the build-to-buy business cycle. Specifically, current providers generally target one of the following: self-service buying activities; development of products (e.g., determining what product to build or service to offer, and selecting pricing, promotions, packaging, warranties, service levels, features, etc.); or selling activities. Providers that target buying activities include Active Research™ (www dot activeresearch dot com), OnLink™ (www dot onlink dot com), Ask Jeeves™ (www dot askjeeves dot com), and Blaze Software (www dot blazesoft dot com). These providers typically use recommendation engines that are either not linked to a purchaser's input, or that force purchasers to think of only particular product features.
Providers that target development of products include PeopleSoft® (www dot peoplesoft dot com), Oracle® (www dot oracle dot com), SAP™ (www dot sap dot com) HNC Software, Inc. (www dot hnc dot com), Hyperion® (www dot hyperion dot com), Blox.com™ (www dot blox dot com), and CorVu (www dot corvu dot com). These providers generally offer general-purpose business performance management products that measure return on investment (ROI) and that track organizational performance for corporate investments or activities. These products typically take a long time to implement and modify, and use inferred customer expectations.
Providers that target selling activities generally use rules-based engines that utilize a fixed set of outcomes, and that take a long time to implement and modify.